Merida McGonagall
Merida Roslynne "Meri" McGonagall (b. 7 May 1981) is the only child and daughter of Minerva McGonagall and her deceased husband, Elphinstone Urquart. She is the focus character of the story 'The New Gryffindor Princess', by PrincessDaydream77. Biography Early Life (1981-1992) Little is known so far about Merida's early life, only that she spent a lot of time with her grandmother, Isobel, her uncle, Malcolm, and his daughter, Vevina. It is also known that Minerva spent very little time at home over the Hogwarts Christmas holidays, as she preferred to remain at the school for a reason that is unknown. Beauxbatons Merida attended Beauxbatons Academy of Magic at the age of eleven, when she did not recieve a letter from Hogwarts. She remained at the school until the age of fifteen, after Vevina graduated, at which somepoint she went to see her mother at Hogwarts. Merida stated that she 'hated it' at the French school and that her mother knew that fact. Starting at Hogwarts In early September 1996, Merida abandoned her education at Beauxbatons to visit her mother, Professor Minerva McGonagall, at her workplace, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The woman was extremely shocked to see her daughter at Hogwarts, asking her why she was there during term-time, when she was supposed to be at Beauxbattons. The pair went through a long debate as to whether Merida could stay or not, which Merida eventually won, stating that her mother had deliberating skipped her name when she was sending the letter for the 1992 first-years, because she felt that Beauxbattons would be safer for her daughter to attend, which Dumbledore had told the girl. Eventually, a reluctant Minerva allowed her daughter to stay. Later that evening, Merida was taken to the Headmaster's office, where the Sorting Hat placed her in Gryffindor House. The day after arriving, after acquiring a timetable, uniform and other school essentials from her mother, Merida went down into breakfast, where she literally bumped into a girl who had been asked by Minerva to show Merida around, who turned out to be Ginevra Weasley. The girls quickly became acquainted, as they were in the same classes and they were soon very good friends. However, when they reached the corridor outside their first lesson, Potions with Professor Snape, they were greeted with the sight of three elder Slytherin boys bullying a Ravenclaw girl of Merida's age. Ginny instantly became protective of the girl, while Merida stayed back slightly, before eventually getting annoyed and jumping to Ginny's defence, turning the boys' negative attentions to her. The most prominent, a blonde boy who later turned out to be Draco Malfoy, teased her about her Blood Status, while she retorted that the Purebloods believing in blood purity were 'vile, cruel and pathetic'. A fight was sparked when Malfoy sent a Stunning Spell at her, which Merida retorted to with a well-aimed Bat Bogey Hex. Unfortunately, only this part was witnessed by Professor Snape, who marched both Merida and Ginny to Dumbledore's office. Once they reached the office, Snape overexaggerated the situation to Dumbledore, who still asked for Merida's opinion on the man's testimony, to which she responded that, although she was not unprovoked, she conceded that she attacked the boy. However, this confession was heard by Minerva McGonagall, who rounded on her daughter, punishing her by not allowing her to remain at Hogwarts over the Christmas holidays. Merida replied to this extremely negatively, stating that her mother was only sending her home because, as had almost always been the case, she had no time for her family at Christmas. Merida then stormed from the room, being comforted on the outside steps by Ginny, who had overheard the whole conversation and now knew of Merida's parentage. Physical Appearance Merida McGonagall is described as having 'bright auburn hair that shimmered in the sunlight' and 'emerald green eyes'. The latter is a trait inherited from her mother, while the former is a trait inherited from both her father, who had brown hair, and her maternal grandmother, who had red hair. Personality and traits Merida is quite a kind and intelligent girl, with a quick wit and a fairly short temper, though her mother had attempted to get her to control this. She does not believe in the Pureblooded values at all, saying them to be 'pathetic', though her Pureblooded father could have bought her some leverage with the Slytherin boys. Magical abilites and skills *'Love:' Merida was very able to feel love towards those around her, mainly to her family. She cared deeply about her mother and is known to be close to her other family, her cousin, Vevina, her uncle, Malcolm and . She also is protective of her best friend, Ginny Weasley and of Luna Lovegood, the Ravenclaw girl she helped to save from teasing. Etymology *'Merida' means 'one who has achieved a high place of honour'. She was given this name because her mother loved fairytales, especially the tale of Princess Merida. *'Roslynne' has two meanings in two different cultures; 'pretty rose' and 'red dragon'. This represents her red hair and the fact that she is a lot fiercer than she seems to be, as is her mother. *'McGonagall' means 'child of the bravest'. Trivia *The fairytale that Merida is meant to be named after, The Adventures of Princess Merida, is actually inspired by the Disney Pixar film, ''Brave ''(2012). In the Wizarding World, it is a little known fairytale, but one that Minerva had always enjoyed reading as a child and well into her adulthood as well. Category:Members of the McGonagall family Category:The New Gryffindor Princess characters